My third interview took place super close to home, just about five minutes away on John Hickman. I was pretty excited going into this interview, as I had very pleasant interactions with Mr. Sandel on the phone. It was even more riveting, as I shook hands with Mr. Sandel, and he introduced me to Bryce Lair, another attorney who works at the firm, who was going to sit in. I was definitely in the mindset of the more the merrier, and it truly was.
I was still trying to find out some of the same concepts as I was when I first started out interviewing. Each and every person has a different perspective, and sometimes asking the same questions to two different people will get you completely polar opposite answers. I went into this interview open-minded, and it was beneficial to have two minds instead of only one.
We discussed a lot of the criminal side of the field. Mr. Lair used to be a prosecutor in Oklahoma, and would work directly with the police and law enforcement. They focused specifically on matters of drugs, which he said were some of his favorite types of cases. He believes that they are victimless crimes- the person who is doing it to themselves, and usually it is something that is completely in their own control. They are choosing to hurt themselves, and usually no one else is involved. This is once again, another connection with the DA’s office, and I am more sure I want to contact them going forward in my research.
Mr. Sandel also had a similar and interesting perspective. “Drug and gun” crimes are often the most fun, because there are hardly the wrongfully accused. He also stated how 80% of this field isn’t practicing law; it’s making connections. It is crucial to see the nuance in the middle ground, to look at both sides and see things objectively. This is a difficult skill that a lot of people struggle with, as it can be almost as possible as humans to separate all emotions from our decision making. In this same tone, he encouraged me to “Redefine winning.” It is not always going to be what you expect, in the field of criminal law especially.
They mentioned the frequency which they are in court, which is about 3 days a week, and often times (about 50-60%) have to visit clients in jail because they can’t make it into the office. A lot of times it might seem that it can be dangerous to constantly deal with criminals on a day-to-day basis, and quite frankly, it can be. Mr. Lair mentioned how these criminals, they don’t think like normal people. To be successful, we have to put ourselves in their shoes instead of getting angry or frustrated at them. The majority of the interview was exciting and I plan to use the information I gained going forward in all future assessments. Coming from professionals who have years and years of experience, that isn’t advice you let go to waste. I agreed with most everything they were saying, and I felt very like-minded with both of them. It was a very thorough interview that increased the depth of my knowledge in my topic.
